Opsens Separates Medical, Industrial Divisions

BioPhotonicsDec 2015
Fiber optic sensors developer Opsens Inc. of Quebec City is spinning off its industrial fiber sensors division. Opsens itself will continue to develop and market sensors used to diagnose and guide treatment of coronary heart disease.

“This reorganization will cluster the medical activities exclusively within the parent company Opsens Inc.,” said President and CEO Louis Laflamme. “This new structure will contribute to the expansion of our medical activities by concentrating our growth and development activities while allowing financial markets to better assess the performance of our business units to create value for our shareholders.”

Opsens’ OptoWire, a nitinol-based optical guidewire, provides intracoronary blood pressure, or fractional flow reserve (FFR), measurements. It’s immune to adverse effects related to blood contact, enabling extended use. The technology is also designed to provide cardiologists with a guidewire that safely navigates coronary arteries and crosses blockages. The FFR market represented more than $300 million in sales in 2014 and is expected to reach $1 billion in the medium term, the company said.

The newly created Opsens Solutions, meanwhile, will concentrate on industrial applications, including in the oil and gas industry. Gaétan Duplain will serve as president of Opsens Solutions. The company recently partnered with Precise Downhole Services Ltd. to install optical sensors in the oil and gas market in Alberta, Canada.

In other news, Opsens has lost a director and gained a vice president.

Lucien Goffart has resigned as director of Opsens Inc. “As part of the progression of his career, Mr. Goffart is now involved in projects that are incompatible with his director’s responsibilities at Opsens,” the company said in a statement. President and CEO Laflamme thanked Goffart “for the quality of his advice in the development and execution of our business strategy.”
Meanwhile, Tony Gibbons has been hired as Opsens’ new vice president of sales and marketing. He will be responsible for the global commercialization plan for Opsens’ FFR measurement products.

Gibbons spent 20 years with Boston Scientific Corp. in various leadership roles including intercontinental president and international sales vice president. He was previously the international vice president of Thoratec Corp.